Firetaker Origins, Part 2

My Mythic-Greece-meets-Panic-Engine idea languished. In the meantime, I participated in the TripTech² Game Jam and published my first Mothership pamphlet. The deadline, accountability, and camaraderie were the fuel mixture I needed to actually finish something. I was hooked.

While I waited for the theme of TripTech³ to be announced, I kicked around ideas for scenarios that could be broadly applicable for the jam (a cremation monster on an interplanetary funerary barge? Killer oyster invasive species smuggled to a water planet?). Firetaker wasn’t on my mind at all. But when the 20 choices were announced on April 12, 2026, one of the possible options was “Ancient Myths.” I may not know my astrological signs, but even I could recognize a sign from the universe.

A d20 roll would determine the official theme. I told myself I would turn Firetaker from a note on my phone into a working draft if the organizer rolled ancient myths. There was a 5% chance.

On April 18, 2026, the jam host announced the theme—and it looked like I was going to make a game.